Archetypes

Nature and Demeanor

Everyone plays a role, often several, every day. Every individual displays multiple layers of personality, varying from the contrived to the sincere. Each of these roles defines how we interact with the people and places around us, and we choose which parts of ourselves we wish to show. It is the same with Kindred. The concept of Nature and Demeanor corresponds directly to the different masks we wear when we interact. A Vampire character’s Nature is her true self, her innermost being — the person she truly is. It is dangerous to show this, though, as it lets others know who we are and what is important to us. Thus, characters also have Demeanors, faces they show to the world. By choosing how we relate to the world, we are able to choose how it relates to us as well, as we guide the responses others give us. Philosophy aside, personality also has an effect on the mechanics of Vampire. A character may regain her drive and sense of purpose by acting in accordance with her Nature. Every time a character fulfills the requirement of her Nature Archetype (see below), that character has the opportunity to regain a point of spent Willpower. If the Storyteller allows, the character regains the point. Archetypes allow players to build a sense of personality for their characters, and to define a bit of what makes the character tick. It is worth noting that Archetypes are not rigid; characters need not slavishly devote themselves to their Natures and Demeanors. Rather, the character should act as the player reasonably or emotionally believes she would act in a given situation. Players and Storytellers may wish to define their own Archetypes that more closely exemplify how the character in question responds to her surroundings. After all, every character is an individual, and customized Archetypes should be a logical outgrowth of a well-rounded character. Here are some example character Archetypes for a wide variety of characters. Some Archetypes are better suited for certain Sects or Clans than others.